Sports News-May 22, 2014

May221:18 am

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The San Antonio Spurs blew by the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-77 to take a 2-0 advantage in the Western Conference final. Tony Parker led the way with 22 points. Danny Green added 21 on seven three-pointers. Tim Duncan contributed 14 points and twelve boards in just 29 minutes of action. Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook each had 15 but combined to shoot just 13-40 for the game. The scene now moves to Oklahoma City for the next two games, starting Sunday night.

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith has pleaded no contest to three felony weapons charges and two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence. The 24-year-old Smith entered his plea yesterday in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Prosecutors say Smith faces a range of possible sentences, from spending no time in custody to a maximum of four years and four months behind bars. Sentencing is set for July 25. In November, Smith pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon after deputies said they found three assault rifles while responding to a complaint about a party in June 2012 at Smith's home. Prosecutors say those rifles are illegal in California. The DUI charges were filed after Smith's car collided with a tree in San Jose in September and police said his blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit.

Jeff Carter scored three of Los Angeles' six straight goals, and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 to knot the NHL Western Conference final at one game apiece. The Blackhawks won their first seven home playoff games this year, but the Kings skated right by Chicago after the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks took an early 2-0 lead.

Headed into the bottom of the ninth down by three runs, the 20th ranked Nebraska baseball team plated four runs in its final at-bat, capped by a walk-off sacrifice fly by Tanner Lubach, on its way to a 7-6 opening-round victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. The win sets up a 5:00 meeting today with the Michigan State Spartans, who opened the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Illinois. The victory was the Huskers’ sixth walk-off of the season and marked the 14th time this season they have won a game when they trailed or were tied after the sixth inning. Nebraska is now 38-18 on the season while Ohio State falls to 30-27. The other scores in the tournament had Indiana beating Iowa 5-2 and Michigan edging Minnesota 3-2. Games today have Illinois facing Ohio State in a 9:00 AM elimination game, Iowa taking on Minnesota in a 1:00 elimination game, Nebraska playing Michigan State at 5:00, and Indiana taking on Michigan at 9:00 PM.

The Creighton baseball team opens the BIG EAST Tournament today at MCU Park in Brooklyn, New York with a meeting against Xavier at 3:00. The Bluejays are the top seed in the bracket while the Muskateers are the four seed. Creighton comes into today with a 30-16-1 overall record and 14-4 in the BIG EAST while Xavier is 26-26 overall and 8-10 in the conference. The Bluejays have won five of their last six games while the Muskateers have dropped eight of their last ten contests. Creighton defeated Xavier 2-1 in their lone three-game series in Cincinnati, Ohio last weekend. The other matchup in the tournament today has St. John’s playing Seton Hall at 6:00.

Ricky Kreklow announced that he would turn his back on scholarship offers to walk on to play basketball at Creighton according to the Omaha World Herald. He decided that the final step in a career that started at Missouri and then shifted to California would be in Omaha. Kreklow informed coach Greg McDermott that he will transfer to Creighton after he graduates from California this summer with a degree in interdisciplinary studies. As a one-year transfer, the 6’6 Kreklow will be eligible immediately. His experience could come in handy as the Bluejays attempt to reload after losing four starters, including national player of the year Doug McDermott, from this season’s team. Kreklow missed 35 games the past two seasons because of a broken foot in the 2012-13 season and a broken hand this season. He started 17 of the 33 games in which he played, and he went from averaging 3.1 points as a redshirt sophomore to 5.5 as a junior this season.

One of the most successful players in Husker women’s basketball history is back in Nebraska again, as Coach Connie Yori announced the addition of Amy Stephens to NU's 2014-15 coaching staff. Stephens, an Alliance native who ranks among the top five Huskers in history in points, assists, and steals, rejoined Yori's staff for the second time. Stephens was also a member of Yori's first Nebraska coaching staff in 2002-03, before being named the head coach at Drake in 2003. Stephens spent nine seasons as the head coach at Drake, compiling a 151-130 record.

Wayne State women’s basketball player Jordan Spencer is the initial recipient of the Butch Raymond scholarship sponsored by Sanford Health. The $5,000 scholarship, announced yesterday by the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, is given to one student athlete from each of the 16 NSIC institutions. The scholarship is in recognition of Butch Raymond, the NSIC Commissioner from 2004 to 2014. Spencer, a 5’11 forward from Omaha, will be a senior on the Wayne State women’s basketball team in 2014-15 and she carries at 3.356 grade point average majoring in biology. On the court, she was First Team All-NSIC selection after leading the Wildcats in scoring at 16.2 points per game. She also averaged 6.2 rebounds and shot 51% from the field to rank fifth in the NSIC while also ranking eighth in the league in scoring.